Electronic and/or micromachined components are often provided on cards. Cards incorporating electronic and/or micromachined components may comprise without limitation: semiconductor components (wherein one or more electronic or micromachined components are fabricated on a semiconductor substrate); discrete electronic and/or electromechanical components; and printed circuit boards (PCB's) which may themselves support semiconductor and/or discrete components. Non-limiting examples of cards having electronic components include: cards complying with the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bussed communication standard which are prevalent on many desktop computers; cards complying with the CardBus™ PC Card standard developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) which are common in many laptop computers; cards complying with the ExpressCard™ standard and application-specific cards which may be designed for specific embedded systems applications for example.
In various applications, it is desirable that cards incorporating electronic and/or micromachined components be held in structures that are compact (e.g. for operating in spatially confined environments), robust (e.g. for operating in environments that are subject to adverse conditions, such as temperature extremes, pressure extremes, radiation, physical jostling or contact, vibration, electromagnetic interference, electrostatic discharge, moisture, corrosion and the like); and reliable, for error free operation over a relatively long lifetime.
The electronic and/or micromachined components present on cards typically consume energy as they operate. The energy consumption associated with these components commonly results in a release of heat. Excessive temperatures may damage the cards and/or their components. The amount of heat generated by a card depends on many factors, including, for example, the operational frequency, size and current load of the electronic components on the card. Typically, cards incorporating components operating at higher power levels tend to generate more heat energy. The desirability for compact card holding structures compounds the difficulties associated with heat management, as heat from closely packed cards can significantly raise the temperature of the environment surrounding the cards and can even directly heat adjacent cards. There is a general desire to provide card holding structures which incorporate mechanisms for removing heat from such cards or for otherwise managing the heat associated with such cards in a manner which prevents damage to the cards and/or their components.
In many applications, it is desirable for cards incorporating electronic and/or micromachined components to interact with other systems and/or components. For example, cards incorporating electronic and/or micromachined components are frequently required to interact with external electronic systems, mechanical systems, pneumatic/hydraulic systems, fluid control systems, wired and wireless communications systems, sensors, actuators or the like. In order to interact with other systems and/or components, cards must be operably connected with such systems and/or components. Typically, such operable connections are electronic in nature, but they may also include wireless connections, optical connections, mechanical connections, fluid connections, hydraulic/pneumatic connections, magnetic connections or the like. The desirability of allowing cards to interact with external components and systems can exacerbate the difficulties associated with providing card holding structures which are compact, robust and reliable and which can effectively manage heat dissipation.